 The Cavalcade of America, presented by Dupont. This evening marks the opening of a Dupont exhibit in the New York Museum of Science and Industry in Rockefeller Center, New York City. Later on you will hear more about this exhibit from three noted men, Dr. F. B. Jewett, President of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, Mr. Lamont Dupont, and Dr. C. M. A. Stein, Vice President in Charge of Dupont Research Activities. Recognizing the great educational advantages of such an exhibit, this evening the Dupont Cavalcade of America salutes one of the foremost American educators, William Holmes McGuffey, creator of the famous McGuffey Readers. The painstaking study and careful selection necessary to produce these books or to achieve success in any field of endeavor are akin to the work of our present day research chemist. Day after day they carry on their work with the same meticulous care. These are the men who are constantly striving to fulfill the Dupont pledge, better things for better living through chemistry. As an overture, Don Vorreys and his Dupont Cavalcade Orchestra present a special setting of the famous Sweetheart song Will You Remember from Sigmund Romberg's operetta, Maytime. Actions of Americans accepted the McGuffey Readers as the foundation of their education. Today a McGuffey Reader is a cherished item among book collectors, a volume treasured by bibliophiles. Let's look into the library of Edward Smith who is showing off his books to an old friend of his, Tom Robinson. Tom, I want to show you something. Here's a book I think you'll remember. Here, look at this. Oh, McGuffey Reader. That's right. A first edition of the sixth of the Eclectic series. Does it take you back, Tom? Way back, Ed. Back in the 80s. Back in the little schoolhouse in Ohio. Say, Ed, you know a lot about books. I remember the McGuffey Readers, but who was McGuffey anyhow? I've just been looking him up, Tom. His name was William Holmes McGuffey. He was born in West Findlay Township, Pennsylvania, in 1800. He had quite a career. I've always wondered what he did aside from the Readers. Well, it's an interesting story, Tom. McGuffey was the second of 11 children. A pioneer family that settled in Trumbull County, Ohio in 1802. That country was frontier then, of course, part of the Great Western Territory. State of Ohio was just then being set up. Of course, there weren't any schools. Imagine being 14, Tom, without a school to go to. To you and me, that would have seemed like heaven. Yes, Tom, but young William McGuffey was a different kind of boy. He practically demanded an education. His parents taught him to read and write, of course, but he hankered for knowledge, and his mother encouraged him. One day, as his mother was working in the garden, reading the vegetable patch, when young William... ...and he said I might have more when I finish reading. You walked to the minister? It's a long way, my boy. Why didn't mind? Father said I might go after I fix the pasture fence. Listen, mother. Yes? You suppose I'll ever be able to go away this study, to learn, and maybe go to college? Seems so hopeless. Oh, nothing is hopeless to be almighty with him. I know. I try to believe as you do. But I'm getting older. He just seems such a little chance. We must have faith in him. We know that our prayers are heard in heaven. Be a brave boy. Yes, mother, I will. But about my going to college, you make better prayers than I do. Perhaps you'd better do the praying. Oh, my boy. Just remember, whatsoever we ask in his name, our father, we thank thee. We acknowledge thy manifold goodness. We know that... Well, Tom, while Mrs. McGuffey was praying for her son's education, a man came down the dirt road close by the McGuffey home. A man on horseback. A second man carrying a rifle met him. Howdy, stranger. Anything wrong? Oh, Sal. It seems there is. Oh, Sal here lost shoes. Furn to these parts, ain't ya? I come from Washington County, Pennsylvania. Goin' far? That would be hard to say. What's your name? Thomas Hughes. And what'd it be your business? I am a schoolteacher. Schoolteacher? Yes. What be you doin' here? The frontier is no place for learnin'. We need men out here, not schoolmen. I think very soon you'll need those who can be both. There ought to be children who are eager to learn and parents who are anxious to have them taught. Yeah, but how you gonna teach them? There's no schoolhouse here. I have a schoolhouse back in Pennsylvania called Stone Academy. I'm searching for contribution to support the school and for pupils as well. Well, looks like you ain't gonna get much further searchin' for youngers to teach to get that horse fixed. Well, that's true. Is there a Smithie nearby? Not for miles, I'll tell ya. You sit here till I go down the road and put the pasture bars up, then you come on home with me. Certainly down the road a piece, we can put ya up for the night. Boy, Jake will fix that shoe. He's as handy as any blacksmith Jake is. Well, that's very kind of you. Don't ride that horse another step. His hoof's bad now. You wait right here. Most dark, easy to get lost in the woods. I won't be long. It is dark. That's then, Saul. Good old Saul. You deserve a real rest tonight. You ought to nibble the grass, do you? Well, all right. Come over here. Cool. Quiet, Saul. But unto thee all things are possible. A woman praying. Dear heavenly father, most particularly I pray for my boy William, whose need is great. I ask help in the name of thy new son. Amen. Amen. Wasn't gone more than a minute, was I? Now you just need your horse and follow me. Where do we start? Is yours the only family living along this road? The only one on the other side. The MacGuffins own the land over here. The MacGuffins, who are they? Greatest bunch of Indian fighters in the county. There's 11 youngsters. Nice, all of them. Their mother brings them up strict. William, he's the oldest boy. He knows the good book almost by heart. Well, well... Their garden's right back at those trees, but the house is over yonder. Strangers never see it from the road. But how'd you know it was there? God moves in mysterious ways. Some people might say I found it out by a miracle. I should like to come back and visit that house in the morning. I think I've found a pupil. So the Reverend Hughes went back to the MacGuffin house the very next day, Tom. And young William MacGuffin went back with him to the Grisberg Academy in Pennsylvania as a pupil. Young MacGuffin earned his way by working in the Hughes house and in the garden. Well, later on, he attended Washington University. And in 1826, he was appointed Professor of Ancient Languages at Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. And as he grew older, he became a strict taskmaster. But his students all loved him. And then, one day, a group of students were waiting for him in his famous classroom on the second floor of Harrison Hall. I almost skated down the hall for fear of catching it from Guffin. No, you're all right. He hasn't come in yet. Faculty meeting, I guess. No, it's visitors. I saw them with Prexy half an hour ago. Hey, you're new here, aren't you? New in this class, I mean? Yes, and new at Miami University, too. Even before I came here, I heard that Guffin was a terror. Well, then you talked to the wrong people. Guffin's all right. He's the best proctor in college. I've never seen him. The dean just sent me down here. Say, tell me, what does Guffin look like? A homely as a hedgehog. But you don't mind that if you know him. Hey, he wears a shiny black suit and a stovepipe hat, and he carries a cane. Yeah, but wait until you hear him talk. He's really a wonderful orator. But what a fiend for work. Lots of times, he gets us into the classroom before breakfast. Yeah, imagine that. Well, Guff really believes the greatest thing in the world is the power of speech. You'll see, you'll get lessons in enunciation and pitch and such things, and at the end of the month, you'll have your orating at the drop of a hat. My dear friends and neighbors, it gives me a great deal of pleasure. Cut down when he comes. There's someone with him, too. Come in, gentlemen. This is my classroom. We can talk here, quite undisturbed. Boys, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but our conference will be postponed. Report to me tomorrow morning at six o'clock. Right, sir. Very well, sir. At six? Didn't I tell you? Before breakfast. Of course, you'll hear you. Come on. Please sit down, gentlemen. Thank you. Well, I'm honored by this visit. Tell me, what's the reason for it? Mr. McGuffey, I'll get to the point at once. Mr. Mansfield and I have come to you for help and advice in solving a problem of national importance. Mr. Drake, I regard you and Mr. Mansfield as among the outstanding figures in the educational world today. I should certainly be most happy to be of any service to you. What is the problem? It's the foundation of our nation. In the past 25 years, millions of people have poured into the Middle West, as you well know. And they must be educated, Mr. McGuffey. We want you to outline a definite plan for public education. We want more than that. The establishment of schools will be only a part. We want a plan for the development of a true American culture. You asked a great deal of me, gentlemen. We do it advisedly, Mr. McGuffey. Your reputation as a leader has spread. We need men who are educators as well as teachers. Yes. Out here, we're cut off from New England. We're raw and uncultured. But we're sending down our roots. We must coordinate the efforts of every teacher in the Middle West. As you say, most of our people are uneducated. But there is intelligence in them and the desire to learn if we can make learning possible. Our first step, gentlemen, is some sort of an association. You mean that we teachers should form an association? I mean exactly that. We must get in touch with every educator we know. We can work for laws establishing common schools. We can ask the government to levy taxes for their upheaval. That's the idea we've been looking for. It's a magnificent plan. And a magnificent time to carry it out, gentlemen. Here and now, we three can initiate a campaign which will give education to our whole nation. Why we can found a race of educated people. Naturally, Tom, the first need of the new common schools was for textbooks. And McGuffey was called upon to supply this need. So in 1836, he compiled a first and a second reader. In 1837, a third and a fourth. And then in 1839, he was elected president of Ohio University. So he moved with his family to Athens, Ohio. One night, he was working as usual in his study with his wife, Harriet. Haven't you worked long enough for one evening, William? You must be tired. Well, the publishers want the revisions on the second reader of our Tuesday. I would work while I can. You love the readers, don't you, William? Now, sometimes I think they mean even more to you than your work here at the college. Well, they're so badly needed, Harriet. Children should be able to read about pleasant, familiar things. And I want to give them the best literature in the world. But most of all, I want to give them standards. Moral and social ideals which they will express one day as citizens. All that in one set of readers? All that in the McGuffey readers if I can manage it. You know, Harriet, I dream about it. Schools all over America. Little boys with shining faces. Grubby hands. Little girls with curls in pinnacles. And all of them reading from your book? Yes. Reading something interesting and something which will do them some good, too. That's true. Of course, at present, my readers are in only a few schools. But someday, William, they'll be in every school in the country. And then you'll be famous. They'll make statues of you. When is it you think the world is going to discover my true worth? Sooner than you think. William, while those elm trees that we planted today are still standing, all America will be saying what a wonderful person he was. This man, McGuffey. Well, Tom, it turned out that Mrs. McGuffey was right. For only a very few years past before recognition came to Professor McGuffey for his influence on the cultural life of America. He was invited to fill the chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Virginia, a position he occupied until his death. It was 1873 that he was taken seriously ill. So ill, he was unable to lecture. A group of his students came to visit him in the infirmary. How is he today, nurse? Be very quiet, please. He's quite eager. He must only stay a few minutes. We don't want to disturb him. We only want to see him. He'll be glad you're here. He asked for you. This is his room. Arthur. Well, come in. Come in. Well, I'm glad to see you. We came, sir, to tell you how much you're missed in your classes. Say, we hope you'll be well again soon. Well, thank you, Carl. Perhaps I shall be. And if I'm an old man, my sons are dead. My old friends are gone. Your students are here, Professor. And we need you. Well, that's pleasant to hear. Makes me feel the work I've carried on for a long time. Not been in vain. No one can take your place, sir. No one teaches as you do. You're a good student, Carl. How well I know that eagerness you have that desire to learn. I was your age. In the old Stone Academy, he had few friends in the Stone Academy. He had few luxuries. But we had books and teachers. And it was all that mattered. Knowledge. That's what really matters in the end. You taught your students to realize that, sir. I wanted to. I wanted to do so much. But the years run away like sand between fingers. But with all you've done, you must enjoy life. The young enjoy life. The old existence. The young are on the voyage of life. The old reach the harbor. Here's your nurse. We must go now. The class has many messages to you, sir. Tell them. Tell them I think of them more often. Thank you, sir. I know all of you once more. But I will be done. Good night, my boys. Good night. And that's the story of William McGuffey's life, Tom. The man who compiled the McGuffey readers. You see, Tom, he was trying to teach us something more than reading when he made up those books. Yes, Ed, I see. And I understand the McGuffey readers now. It was what he put into them that made us like. You know, a whole lot of us are better people because of that man, McGuffey. Ladies and gentlemen, at this point, I would like to have you meet the distinguished guests whom we mentioned at the beginning of this evening's Cavalcade program. And I would like also to make a news announcement concerned with their being here. Tomorrow, the New York Museum of Science and Industry in cooperation with the DuPont Company opens at the museum in Rockefeller Center, a local and comprehensive exhibit dramatizing the part that chemistry plays in daily life. Dr. F. B. Jewett, president of the trustees for the museum, is here to tell us something about it. And I present him now, Dr. Jewett. The Words New York Museum of Science and Industry are apt to sound a little heavy as though the museum might be filled with highly technical exhibits interesting to the scientists but not to you and me. It is such as not the case. It is primarily a place of moving things where one can see in operation the simple scientific principles on which our intricate machines and processes are based. In it, you can push buttons and pull levers to your heart's content and see the wheels go round. I have watched hundreds, young and old, as they look at such things as Edison's first phonograph and the crude machines which followed it or at models tracing the development of the steamship. And I can tell by the looks on their faces and the length of time they watch that they're enjoying it all thoroughly. And tomorrow we will have another important and interesting exhibit for you to come and see the next time you are in New York. It is a visual presentation called Better Things for Better Living Through Chemistry sponsored by the DuPont Company. It shows by means of displays, working models and demonstrations how some of the things chemistry does for you and me are accomplished. It is appropriate that the museum should present such an exhibition. The museum's whole purpose is to illustrate the advance of our civilization through the achievements of science and industry. And chemistry has contributed so much to modern living that an exhibit of its products forms a vital part of the pageant of America's progress. Here with us this evening on the stage of this radio theater are Mr. Lamont DuPont, President of the DuPont Company and Dr. Charles M.A. Stein, Vice President responsible for the company's broad research program. First we shall hear from Mr. DuPont. Mr. DuPont? Thank you, Dr. Joe. Ladies and gentlemen, though the Cavalcade of American Program is sponsored by the DuPont Company, this is the first time our people have permitted me to appear on it. Their judgment has been good, but I'll let you decide whether that applies to keeping me off the air in the past or letting me on now. I am really pleased to be here and I hope you enjoyed tonight's program as much as I did. The sketch about McGuffey's famous readers stirred memories of school days and brought back the times when our teachers took us to pass for the way we studied or failed to study our textbook. Dr. Joe mentioned is, I think, an interesting one. And as a medium for visual education, it shows in a striking way the progress made since McGuffey's time. To me, this exhibit brings home one point with special emphasis. It is this. Every research chemist, whether he works in an industrial laboratory, at a university or at some homemade apparatus in his cellar, is creating for his fellow men. He creates something new and it has passed on to us all. He improves an existing product and the same thing happens. Someone must make the things for us to enjoy. The research chemist is indeed supplying better things for better living and providing new jobs besides. One of the most skilled research chemists it has ever been my pleasure to know is my associate, Dr. Charles Stein. He is standing here beside me now. I'd like to have you meet him, Dr. Stein. The achievements of science and its contributions to our health, food, clothing, housing, in fact to our daily life in all its phases are too often described as some sort of magic. Some people, I fear, imagine that scientific developments of great industrial importance are achieved almost as easily as rubbing an Aladdin's lamp. The only Aladdin's lamp which science as your everyday servant can use has for the oil which makes it burn and accumulation of scientific knowledge from many sources. The wick which conducts the fuel to the flame is woven out of the coordinated interlacing efforts of a multitude of research workers. The lamp itself, of course, is a research institution and the material used in fabricating this Aladdin's lamp of scientific development is truly gold because for every advance in our industrial civilization we must spend hundreds of thousands, yes, millions of dollars on research. Finally, the flame of this lamp is brilliant and lightening or smoky and sputtering just in proportion to wisdom trims the wick and attends upon the light. We raise this burning lamp of applied science and by its light peer eagerly ahead in an effort to glimpse the future in so far as the path of the future may lead through the research laboratories of applied science. We glimpse the possibilities of new chemical compounds as medicinals to alleviate suffering and correct the disordered chemistry of the human body. We vision the increased control of pests that cost the farmer six and a half billion dollars a year and foresee better yields from acres enriched with scientifically produced fertilizers. We glimpse wonderful new materials for clothing. We see just ahead new materials for construction of houses for the production of smart and inexpensive home furnishings of new and exciting articles of every kind. Science and industry working hand in hand already have taken remarkable strides toward making life healthier, happier and more complete. Therefore, it seems logical that these achievements of today foreshadow still more interesting and useful developments from applied science particularly from the chemical industry. In short, better things for better living through chemistry. Thank you, Dr. Stein. It has been a great pleasure to have you, Dr. Stewart and Mr. DuPont here with us this evening. The discovery of the North Pole by Commander Robert E. Perry will be the subject of our broadcast when next week at the same time DuPont again presents The Cavalcade of America. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.